View full sizeGreg Albritton, left, finished first in the Republican primary for Alabama Senate District 22 on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. He will face second-place finisher Harry D'Olive, pictured on right.

The Republican primary runoff in the race for Alabama District 22 features a pair of lawyers with similar views on many issues, but former state Rep. Greg Albritton said there is a big difference over taxes.

In June, Albritton edged Bay Minette lawyer Harry D'Olive in a five-man field, but both fell well short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff. The winner of Tuesday's contest will face Democrat Susan Smith in the November general election. The district covers Escambia County and parts of Clarke, Conecuh, Choctaw, Monroe, Washington, Mobile and Baldwin counties.

Albritton, who lives in Conecuh County and has a solo law practice, said he is steadfastly against raising any taxes while D'Olive has been open to taxing Internet sales.

"I don't believe we can do any tax increase on the public," Albritton said. "The economy is too fragile."

D'Olive said he opposes taxing Internet sales and merely has pointed out that others have suggested doing so as an option. In an interview with AL.com/Press-Register reporters and editors, he appeared to go further.

"A lot of people have discussed the Internet sales tax and the amount of money that might bring in," he said at the time. "Of course, there are others who are vehemently opposed to that. So that would be a struggle. But it may be one of the answers."

More similarities than differences

The tax issue notwithstanding, there are more similarities than differences between the two men. Both have solo legal practices in their hometowns. Albritton does a little of everything, while D'Olive concentrates primarily on probate law.

Both oppose expanding Alabama's Medicaid program and oppose the Common Core State Standards Initiative that seeks to equalize teaching methods and standards throughout the country.

Both also have experienced victory and defeat at the polls during their political careers. D'Olive, who comes from one of Baldwin County's oldest families, lost an election bid the year after winning appointment as probate judge to finish the term of his ailing father in 1993. He also lost a probate judge race in 2012. He won a race for mayor of Silverhill but gave up the post after about a year to go to law school. Prior to that, he had been a Baldwin County sheriff's deputy for 15 years.

After serving in the U.S. Navy and getting a law degree, Albritton won a race for the state House of Representatives in 2002. He lost a re-election bid four years later, though after redistricting altered the composition of his district. He has touted the fact that he has lived in five of the district's eight counties.

Albritton and D'Olive agree that improving the economy of the largely rural district is the top priority, but they have different ideas about how to achieve that goal. Albritton said the state should eliminate burdensome regulations and streamline government.

"Most of the problem, from my perspective, is that regulations are stifling job creation at every level – state and federal," he said.

Albritton said the state has too many boards and commissions regulating a whole range of industries. Some of those are unnecessary and serve to suppress opportunities for people wanting to break into those fields, he said. He said he agrees with some of the conclusions of a study released earlier this year by Troy University's free-market think tank, the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy.

Albritton praised efforts by Gov. Robert Bentley and the Legislature to make government more efficient by eliminating duplication and combining agencies. One of the biggest examples is a move to place various state law enforcement agencies under a public safety director.

"The state has not done all that it can, nor has it done all that it should," he said.

D'Olive stresses industrial recruitment

D'Olive said the state needs to step up efforts to recruit new businesses. He has identified luring manufacturers to a Baldwin County government-owned "mega site" north of Bay Minette as a prime opportunity.

He said he supports offering tax incentives to attract industry but added that it is just as important for the state senator to "just be an active part" of the recruitment effort.

"It's some of both," he said. "The tax incentive packages are making the state more economically friendly."

On the budget, D'Olive promised to "look at cutting the wasteful spending," although he offered few specifics.

D'Olive cast himself as a fresh face with new ideas, noting that Albritton lost his re-election bid for the Legislature in 2006.

"Voters chose not to return him to the House. He's had an opportunity," he said.

Thanks to a late fundraising surge, D'Olive actually has spent more money, edging Albritton $53,532 to $47,173, according to campaign finance reports.

The winner of Tuesday's runoff figures to be a favorite in the general election now that the GOP-controlled Legislature has made the district much more Republican-leaning after redistricting. The winner of the general election will earn a salary tied to the state's household median income.